Woj: Cavs have legitimate fear Kevin Love will walk this summer

[LarBrd33]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

[BitterJim]

Keep on trolling, Woj.

Seriously,I respect his opinion a lot on most things, but his disdain for LeBron is well documented, so anything he says that has even the tiniest bit to do with LeBron I instantly take with a grain of salt.

Trolling? Maybe not quite, but something like this should be treated a lot differently than most "Wojbombs"

[celticsclay]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

The Cavs owe 14 to Irving next year (extension kicks in )
Varejo for 9.5 million
Lebron for 20.5 million (if he opts in)
Tristan Thompson with what looks like a 12 million cap hold
Cap holds for Shumpert, Mosgov and Jr Smith

Basically they would have to renounce every single free agent they have (Thompson, Shumpter, Mosgov, Love, Smith) to even approach having cap space after the contracts of Lebron, Irving and Andy V. That doesn't seem very feasible, likely, or smart.

Edit: I will add this is another reason that the Wiggins trade will haunt them, although they will be bailed out to a degree in 2016-2017 if the cap is raised as expected. Having Wiggins on the books for 5.6 Million next year instead of Love or Aldridge at 20.5 million gives them tremendous flexibility. If they had kept Wiggins they could have had a much more realistic shot of poaching someone like Aldridge while still having a semblance of a team. However, for at least next year the salary cap structure is really designed to limit what teams can do that have multiple players making the max.

[LGC88]

Kobe, Love, Rondo. Why this picture makes me laugh a bit?

[Moranis]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

the Cavs have Kyrie at 15 million and Varejao at 9.5 million as basically the only players guaranteed to be under contract next year (Harris has like 900k guaranteed as well).  Mozgov has a team option of 5 million, I'm sure they will offer Thompson the QO which is 7.1 million, and Haywood has that goofy 10.5 million contract but of which only a very small amount is guaranteed.  So if Lebron, Love, Smith, and Miller all opt out, the Cavs would technically be able to make room for a max contract if Lebron re-signs for like 10-13 million, depending on final cap number.  Now you say why would Lebron sign for that, well if he knows by doing so he can bring in Aldridge, and because he will only sign for 1 year so that he can maximize the dollars the following summer when the cap jumps, it makes a lot of sense from a basketball standpoint.  That of course means they lose Smith and Shumpert, which would leave a big void in the backcourt though.  The Cavs could create more room and keep some players or get James a bigger contract if they do a sign and trade for Aldridge and maybe send them Thompson, Haywood, and some picks.  That might be the more appealing option.

[saltlover]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

The Cavs owe 14 to Irving next year (extension kicks in )
Varejo for 9.5 million
Lebron for 20.5 million (if he opts in)
Tristan Thompson with what looks like a 12 million cap hold
Cap holds for Shumpert, Mosgov and Jr Smith

Basically they would have to renounce every single free agent they have (Thompson, Shumpter, Mosgov, Love, Smith) to even approach having cap space after the contracts of Lebron, Irving and Andy V. That doesn't seem very feasible, likely, or smart.

The Cavs don't have cap space, it's true.  I assume that any Aldridge-replacing Love ideas involve sign-and-trades.  Either an Aldridge-Tristan Thompson swap or a 3-way deal in which Love is traded to his new team, Aldridge goes to Cleveland, and Portland gets something, presumably from Cleveland if Love signs somewhere with cap room, or from Love's new team if he signs somewhere over the cap.

I think it's unlikely that Aldridge winds up in Cleveland if Love goes, but it's not impossible.

[Tr1boy]

Alot of things point to Love not coming back.

Remember what Blatt said? Love is not close with Lebron.

Cavs are not paying him crazy money


Now if the Cavs win the championship , then maybe. But cavs are not winning it the way things are going

[celticsclay]

Keep on trolling, Woj.

Seriously,I respect his opinion a lot on most things, but his disdain for LeBron is well documented, so anything he says that has even the tiniest bit to do with LeBron I instantly take with a grain of salt.

Trolling? Maybe not quite, but something like this should be treated a lot differently than most "Wojbombs"

I have seen his animosity and ridiculous coverage of Lebron over the years, but what Kevin Love does in free agency is only tangently related to Lebron correct? It is not like he wrote a bunch of erronous reports on Wade, Bosh or Haslem over the last 5 years (or maybe he has?

[LarBrd33]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

The Cavs owe 14 to Irving next year (extension kicks in )
Varejo for 9.5 million
Lebron for 20.5 million (if he opts in)
Tristan Thompson with what looks like a 12 million cap hold
Cap holds for Shumpert, Mosgov and Jr Smith

Basically they would have to renounce every single free agent they have (Thompson, Shumpter, Mosgov, Love, Smith) to even approach having cap space after the contracts of Lebron, Irving and Andy V. That doesn't seem very feasible, likely, or smart.

The Cavs don't have cap space, it's true.  I assume that any Aldridge-replacing Love ideas involve sign-and-trades.  Either an Aldridge-Tristan Thompson swap or a 3-way deal in which Love is traded to his new team, Aldridge goes to Cleveland, and Portland gets something, presumably from Cleveland if Love signs somewhere with cap room, or from Love's new team if he signs somewhere over the cap.

I think it's unlikely that Aldridge winds up in Cleveland if Love goes, but it's not impossible.

I didn't bother investing much time researching it... but if they have Kyrie at 14 mil and LeBron at 21 mil... Mozgov at 5 mil.... they could just let Thompson and Shump walk.  That's 40 mil on the books.  10 mil for Varejao pushes it to 50 mil... That's still 16 mil in cap space.   If Smith comes back it's only 10 mil in cap space.   But then again, maybe they would find a taker for Varejao ... or perhaps they'd work out a sign-and-trade involving Varejao and picks for LaMarcus.    If Love walks and Aldridge wants to replace him, the Cavs wouldn't have too difficult a time making it happen.

[BitterJim]

Keep on trolling, Woj.

Seriously,I respect his opinion a lot on most things, but his disdain for LeBron is well documented, so anything he says that has even the tiniest bit to do with LeBron I instantly take with a grain of salt.

Trolling? Maybe not quite, but something like this should be treated a lot differently than most "Wojbombs"

I have seen his animosity and ridiculous coverage of Lebron over the years, but what Kevin Love does in free agency is only tangently related to Lebron correct? It is not like he wrote a bunch of erronous reports on Wade, Bosh or Haslem over the last 5 years (or maybe he has?

I'm not sure in this one, which is why I'm taking it with a grain of salt. I feel like Woj wants nothing more than to see LeBron lose, so he likely isn't as careful or selective when it comes to news that fits that narrative.

Basically,I just think Woj has some confirmation bias on this subject, so I'll wait until another reliable source indicates the same thing

[celticsclay]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

The Cavs owe 14 to Irving next year (extension kicks in )
Varejo for 9.5 million
Lebron for 20.5 million (if he opts in)
Tristan Thompson with what looks like a 12 million cap hold
Cap holds for Shumpert, Mosgov and Jr Smith

Basically they would have to renounce every single free agent they have (Thompson, Shumpter, Mosgov, Love, Smith) to even approach having cap space after the contracts of Lebron, Irving and Andy V. That doesn't seem very feasible, likely, or smart.

The Cavs don't have cap space, it's true.  I assume that any Aldridge-replacing Love ideas involve sign-and-trades.  Either an Aldridge-Tristan Thompson swap or a 3-way deal in which Love is traded to his new team, Aldridge goes to Cleveland, and Portland gets something, presumably from Cleveland if Love signs somewhere with cap room, or from Love's new team if he signs somewhere over the cap.

I think it's unlikely that Aldridge winds up in Cleveland if Love goes, but it's not impossible.

I didn't bother investing much time researching it... but if they have Kyrie at 14 mil and LeBron at 21 mil... Mozgov at 5 mil.... they could just let Thompson and Shump walk.  That's 40 mil on the books.  10 mil for Varejao pushes it to 50 mil... That's still 16 mil in cap space.   If Smith comes back it's only 10 mil in cap space.   But then again, maybe they would find a taker for Varejao ... or perhaps they'd work out a sign-and-trade involving Varejao and picks for LaMarcus.    If Love walks and Aldridge wants to replace him, the Cavs wouldn't have too difficult a time making it happen.

Andy V, Like Wallace, is a net negative asset. Unless they own other teams draft picks that I am not aware of, their own future picks are pretty worthless when they are projected to be 28th or so. I also don't see how replacing love and Thompson with Aldridge is a net upgrade (while also losing shumpert and possibly Smith). If you have 3 max players you really need to have some guys on steals of contracts (Most often rookie level contracts). Would you agree that getting Aldridge would have been a lot more reasonable and feasible if they had just kept Wiggins and he was only making 5.5 million?

[Who]

I think he will walk ... in 12 months time.

Kevin Love's options in this year's FA class are not appealing enough. Better to stay another year and find himself a good home 12 months from now.

[saltlover]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

The Cavs owe 14 to Irving next year (extension kicks in )
Varejo for 9.5 million
Lebron for 20.5 million (if he opts in)
Tristan Thompson with what looks like a 12 million cap hold
Cap holds for Shumpert, Mosgov and Jr Smith

Basically they would have to renounce every single free agent they have (Thompson, Shumpter, Mosgov, Love, Smith) to even approach having cap space after the contracts of Lebron, Irving and Andy V. That doesn't seem very feasible, likely, or smart.

The Cavs don't have cap space, it's true.  I assume that any Aldridge-replacing Love ideas involve sign-and-trades.  Either an Aldridge-Tristan Thompson swap or a 3-way deal in which Love is traded to his new team, Aldridge goes to Cleveland, and Portland gets something, presumably from Cleveland if Love signs somewhere with cap room, or from Love's new team if he signs somewhere over the cap.

I think it's unlikely that Aldridge winds up in Cleveland if Love goes, but it's not impossible.

I didn't bother investing much time researching it... but if they have Kyrie at 14 mil and LeBron at 21 mil... Mozgov at 5 mil.... they could just let Thompson and Shump walk.  That's 40 mil on the books.  10 mil for Varejao pushes it to 50 mil... That's still 16 mil in cap space.   If Smith comes back it's only 10 mil in cap space.   But then again, maybe they would find a taker for Varejao ... or perhaps they'd work out a sign-and-trade involving Varejao and picks for LaMarcus.    If Love walks and Aldridge wants to replace him, the Cavs wouldn't have too difficult a time making it happen.

Kyrie will be making more than $14 mil, for starters.

Anyway, if you assume that Smith keeps his option (he'd be a fool not to), Miller keeps his (ditto) and that Mosgoz is retained (Cavs would be a fool not to), Cleveland would have about $3 million in cap room if Love walks and they renounce everyone else.  I've spent the time figuring it out, including estimating Irving's salary at $15.8 million.  There is no way to clear the $19 million in cap space required to sign Aldridge.  Tristan Thompson in a sign-and-trade to Portland is by far the best option, because Portland might like Thompson.  Brandon Haywood also has a $10 mil non-guaranteed contract that can go a long way towards making any salary match, as well.  But Cleveland is shy on picks to compensate Portland with, and Thompson also has to agree to leave Cleveland for Portland, which will require overpaying him as a favor.

[pearljammer10]

Hahahahah.

Love is going to the Lakers as I keep hearing rumors.

Love and Rondo in Lakers purple and gold. Ugh.

[celticsclay]

Who cares if Love walks when Cleveland can easily replace him with Amare Stoudemire (sarcasm), lol ?

Marc Stein reported that if LaMarcus Alldridge leaves Portland, the frontrunners to sign him are the Spurs... but that he could end up replacing Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Do the Cavs even have the money to sign Alridge? I know the Spurs do, if Duncan retires.

Duncan wouldn't need to retire... just take less money (he's a free agent)

Pretty sure Cavs have cap space if Love walks.

The Cavs owe 14 to Irving next year (extension kicks in )
Varejo for 9.5 million
Lebron for 20.5 million (if he opts in)
Tristan Thompson with what looks like a 12 million cap hold
Cap holds for Shumpert, Mosgov and Jr Smith

Basically they would have to renounce every single free agent they have (Thompson, Shumpter, Mosgov, Love, Smith) to even approach having cap space after the contracts of Lebron, Irving and Andy V. That doesn't seem very feasible, likely, or smart.

The Cavs don't have cap space, it's true.  I assume that any Aldridge-replacing Love ideas involve sign-and-trades.  Either an Aldridge-Tristan Thompson swap or a 3-way deal in which Love is traded to his new team, Aldridge goes to Cleveland, and Portland gets something, presumably from Cleveland if Love signs somewhere with cap room, or from Love's new team if he signs somewhere over the cap.

I think it's unlikely that Aldridge winds up in Cleveland if Love goes, but it's not impossible.

I didn't bother investing much time researching it... but if they have Kyrie at 14 mil and LeBron at 21 mil... Mozgov at 5 mil.... they could just let Thompson and Shump walk.  That's 40 mil on the books.  10 mil for Varejao pushes it to 50 mil... That's still 16 mil in cap space.   If Smith comes back it's only 10 mil in cap space.   But then again, maybe they would find a taker for Varejao ... or perhaps they'd work out a sign-and-trade involving Varejao and picks for LaMarcus.    If Love walks and Aldridge wants to replace him, the Cavs wouldn't have too difficult a time making it happen.

Kyrie will be making more than $14 mil, for starters.

Anyway, if you assume that Smith keeps his option (he'd be a fool not to), Miller keeps his (ditto) and that Mosgoz is retained (Cavs would be a fool not to), Cleveland would have about $3 million in cap room if Love walks and they renounce everyone else.  I've spent the time figuring it out, including estimating Irving's salary at $15.8 million.  There is no way to clear the $19 million in cap space required to sign Aldridge.  Tristan Thompson in a sign-and-trade to Portland is by far the best option, because Portland might like Thompson.  Brandon Haywood also has a $10 mil non-guaranteed contract that can go a long way towards making any salary match, as well.  But Cleveland is shy on picks to compensate Portland with, and Thompson also has to agree to leave Cleveland for Portland, which will require overpaying him as a favor.

To be fair to Larbrd I originally provided the 14 million dollar figure which was a lazy estimate on my part. I guess the larger picture is that is really unlikely Aldridge would end up in Cleveland. It is also debatable whether losing both Thompson and Love for Aldridge would even be a good thing for them.